Blackwater Is Soaked
An arrogant attitude only adds fuel to the criticism.

By Rod Nordland and Mark Hosenball
Newsweek

Oct. 15, 2007 issue - The colonel was furious. "Can you believe it? They actually drew their weapons on U.S. soldiers." He was describing a 2006 car accident, in which an SUV full of Blackwater operatives had crashed into a U.S. Army Humvee on a street in Baghdad's Green Zone. The colonel, who was involved in a follow-up investigation and spoke on the condition he not be named, said the Blackwater guards disarmed the U.S. Army soldiers and made them lie on the ground at gunpoint until they could disentangle the SUV. His account was confirmed by the head of another private security company. Asked to address this and other allegations in this story, Blackwater spokesperson Anne Tyrrell said, "This type of gossip has led to many soap operas in the press."

There was a entry over at antiwar.com by an Iraqi-American from the Minnie area, who owns the ME restaurant Sinbads who visited Iraq and mentioned things like this occurring. Only he went further and said some US Marines were shot at by men driving American vehicles, who spoke perfect English. He said they wore masks. I don't how true it is but this story seems to give some credence to it.

I find it very, very, VERY difficult to believe that this is true. It simply makes no sense whatsoever why they would do that.

No frigging way a U.S. Soldier gives up his weapon in a war zone to a for profit business's soldiers.

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Some on here need some perspective. Remember Haley/Crennel/Gunther/Herm etc. it can get a lot worse.

The NFL hired 2 of Reid's OC’s to be head coaches in the last 3 years. One is already in the Super Bowl this year with Foles as his QB. If any NFL team needs a coach and Reid is available, they will hire him over any person on the face of the earth, except for Bellicheck.

I wouldn't be so skeptical. Afterall, the stories about the wrecklessness and lawlessness of the rent-a-soldiers have been all over the international (espcially M.E.) media for YEARS. It's only been the past 6 months or so have such stories permeated the US media. In actuality, much of the abuse and hard booted tactics that the MILITARY has been blamed for has actually been perpetrated by the companies being paid by US tax dollars. Which no doubt frustrates the military and now we can see them not keeping quiet any more. See the military exposing Blackwater's culpability in the massacre of citizens in September.

BigChiefDave:"Anyone who thought we would only be in Iraq for a few years is either stoned or just stoopid."
"It is unknowable how long that conflict will last. It could last 6 days, 6 wks. I doubt 6 mths." Rummy 2/7/03

No frigging way a U.S. Soldier gives up his weapon in a war zone to a for profit business's soldiers.

I think you may not have been paying attention, almost all the Blackwater troops are former Special Ops forces from around the world, highly paid and very effective. To think they could disarm a standard GI is not so hard to believe. What is good is that they merely disarmed them and did not harm them. Had they shot and maimed a US troop now there would have been a true scandal.

Personally if diplomats and news agencies want to hire former special ops folks for protection I am not really all that against it. What I worry about is that our government may be using them as a way to circumvent our own laws.